Vehicle comprising electronic control unit configured to control inverter by switching PWM control

ABSTRACT

A vehicle includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to perform control of an inverter by switching a plurality of controls including i) first PWM control of generating a first PWM signal of a plurality of switching elements by comparison of voltage commands of respective phases based on a torque command of a motor with a carrier voltage and switching the plurality of switching elements, and ii) second PWM control of generating a second PWM signal of the plurality of switching elements based on a modulation factor of a voltage and a voltage phase based on the torque command and the number of pulses in a predetermined period of an electrical angle of the motor and switching the plurality of switching elements. The electronic control unit is configured to limit execution of the second PWM control when an abnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2016-091164 filed on Apr. 28, 2016, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a vehicle and more particularly to a vehicleincluding a motor, an inverter, and a battery.

2. Description of Related Art

As such a type of vehicle, a vehicle which includes an electric motorand a power conversion device having an inverter circuit that drives theelectric motor by switching a plurality of switching elements and inwhich pulse signals of the plurality of switching elements are generatedbased on the number of pulses in one electrical period of the electricmotor and a modulation factor of a voltage and a voltage phase based ona torque command of the electric motor to switch the plurality ofswitching elements has been proposed (for example, see Japanese PatentApplication Publication No. 2013-162660 (JP 2013-162660 A). In such avehicle, loss reduction in a drive system including the power conversiondevice and the electric motor as a whole is achieved by generating pulsesignals to minimize power loss of the power conversion device and theelectric motor based on the number of pulses, the modulation factor, andthe voltage phase.

SUMMARY

However, in the technique of generating pulse signals and outputting thepulse signals to the power conversion device in the above-mentionedvehicle, a period in which the pulse signals are generated is longer andresponsiveness (trackability of an operating point when a targetoperating point changes) of the electric motor is lower in comparisonwith a technique of generating pulse signals by comparison of voltagecommands of respective phases of the electric motor with a carriervoltage and outputting the pulse signals to the power conversion device.Accordingly, when an abnormality occurs in a rotational position sensorthat detects a rotational position of a rotor of the electric motor, anovercurrent or an overvoltage is likely to occur in the inverter.

The disclosure provides a vehicle that can prevent an overcurrent or anovervoltage from occurring in an inverter.

A vehicle according to a first aspect of the disclosure includes a motorconfigured to drive the vehicle, an inverter configured to drive themotor by switching a plurality of switching elements, a batteryconfigured to exchange power with the motor via the inverter, arotational position sensor configured to detect a rotational position ofa rotor of the motor, and an electronic control unit. The electroniccontrol unit is configured to perform control of the inverter byswitching a plurality of controls including first PWM control ofgenerating a first PWM signal of the plurality of switching elements bycomparison of voltage commands of respective phases based on a torquecommand of the motor with a carrier voltage and switching the pluralityof switching elements, and second PWM control of generating a second PWMsignal of the plurality of switching elements based on a modulationfactor of a voltage and a voltage phase based on the torque command andthe number of pulses in a predetermined period of an electrical angle ofthe motor and switching the plurality of switching elements. Theelectronic control unit is configured to limit execution of the secondPWM control when an abnormality occurs in the rotational positionsensor.

In the vehicle according to the aspect, control of the inverter isperformed by switching the plurality of controls including the first PWMcontrol and the second PWM control. The first PWM control is control ofgenerating a first PWM signal by comparison of the voltage commands ofrespective phases based on the torque command of the motor with thecarrier voltage and switching the plurality of switching elements of theinverter. The second PWM control is control of generating a second PWMsignal based on a modulation factor of a voltage and a voltage phasebased on the torque command of the motor and the number of pulses in apredetermined period of an electrical angle of the motor and switchingthe plurality of switching elements of the inverter. When an abnormalityoccurs in the rotational position sensor that detects the rotationalposition of the rotor of the motor, execution of the second PWM controlis limited. In the second PWM control, a period in which the pulsesignals are generated is longer and responsiveness of the electric motoris lower in comparison with the first PWM control. Accordingly, when anabnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor, an overcurrent oran overvoltage is likely to occur in the inverter. As a result, it ispossible to prevent an overcurrent or an overvoltage from occurring inthe inverter by limiting execution of the second PWM control when anabnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor. Here, the“limiting of execution of the second PWM control” includes reduction ofan execution range of the second PWM control or prohibition of thesecond PWM control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of anelectric vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between atarget operating point of a motor and areas of first and second PWMcontrols;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second PWM controlpermission determining routine which is performed by an electroniccontrol unit according to the embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a hybrid vehicleaccording to a modified example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the disclosure will be described withreference to an example.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of anelectric vehicle 20 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Theelectric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment includes a motor 32, aninverter 34, a battery 36, a boost converter 40, and an electroniccontrol unit 50 as illustrated in the drawing.

The motor 32 is constituted by a synchronous generator-motor andincludes a rotor in which a permanent magnet is embedded and a stator onwhich a three-phase coil is wound. The rotor of the motor 32 isconnected to a drive shaft 26 which is connected to driving wheels 22 aand 22 b via a differential gear 24.

The inverter 34 is connected to the motor 32 and is also connected tothe boost converter 40 via a high-voltage power line 42. The inverter 34includes six transistors T11 to T16 and six diodes D11 to D16. Thetransistors T11 to T16 are arranged as pairs of two transistors to serveas a source side and a sink side with respect to a positive bus bar anda negative bus bar of the high-voltage power line 42. The six diodes D11to D16 are connected in reverse parallel to the transistors T11 to T16,respectively. The three-phase coil (a U phase, a V phase, and a W phase)of the motor 32 is connected to junction points between the transistorsconstituting the pairs of the transistors T11 to T16. Accordingly, whena voltage is applied to the inverter 34, a rotating magnetic field isformed in the three-phase coil and the motor 32 is rotationally drivenby causing the electronic control unit 50 to adjust a ratio of ON-timeof each pair of transistors T11 to T16. Hereinafter, the transistors T11to T13 may be referred to as an “upper arm” and the transistors T14 toT16 may be referred to as a “lower arm.” A smoothing capacitor 46 isconnected to the positive bus bar and the negative bus bar of thehigh-voltage power line 42.

The battery 36 is constituted by, for example, a lithium ion secondarybattery or a nickel hydrogen secondary battery and is connected to theboost converter 40 via a low-voltage power line 44. A smoothingcapacitor 48 is connected to a positive bus bar and a negative bus barof the low-voltage power line 44.

The boost converter 40 is connected to the high-voltage power line 42and the low-voltage power line 44. The boost converter 40 includes twotransistors T31 and T32, two diodes D31 and D32, and a reactor L. Thetransistor T31 is connected to the positive bus bar of the high-voltagepower line 42. The transistor T32 is connected to the transistor T31 andthe negative bus bars of the high-voltage power line 42 and thelow-voltage power line 44. The two diodes D31 and D32 are connected inreverse parallel to the transistors T31 and T32, respectively. Thereactor L is connected to a junction point between the transistors T31and T32 and the positive bus bar of the low-voltage power line 44. Bycausing the electronic control unit 50 to adjust a ratio of ON-time ofthe transistors T31 and T32, the boost converter 40 supplies power ofthe low-voltage power line 44 to the high-voltage power line 42 withstep-up of a voltage or supplies power of the high-voltage power line 42to the low-voltage power line 44 with step-down of a voltage.

The electronic control unit 50 is constituted as a microprocessorincluding a CPU 52, and includes a ROM 54 storing a processing program,a RAM 56 temporarily storing data, and an input and output port inaddition to the CPU 52.

Signals from various sensors are input to the electronic control unit 50via the input port. Examples of the signals input to the electroniccontrol unit 50 include a rotational position θm from a rotationalposition sensor 32 a (for example, a resolver) that detects a rotationalposition of the rotor of the motor 32 and phase currents Iu and Iv fromcurrent sensors 32 u and 32 v that detect currents flowing in the phasesof the motor 32. Examples of the input signals further include a voltageVB from a voltage sensor 36 a connected between terminals of the battery36, a current IB from a current sensor 36 b connected to an outputterminal of the battery 36 and a reactor current IL from a currentsensor 37 b connected to a reactor L. Examples of the input signalsfurther include a voltage VH of the capacitor 46 (the high-voltage powerline 42) from a voltage sensor 46 a connected between terminals of thecapacitor 46 and a voltage VL of the capacitor 48 (the low-voltage powerline 44) from a voltage sensor 48 a connected between terminals of thecapacitor 48. Examples of the input signals further include an ignitionsignal from an ignition switch 60, a shift position SP from a shiftposition sensor 62 that detects an operation position of a shift lever61, an accelerator opening Acc from an accelerator pedal position sensor64 that detects a degree of stepping on an accelerator pedal 63, and abrake pedal position BP from a brake pedal position sensor 66 thatdetects a degree of stepping on a brake pedal 65. Examples of the inputsignals further include a vehicle speed VS from a vehicle speed sensor68.

Various control signals are output from the electronic control unit 50via the output port. Examples of the signal output from the electroniccontrol unit 50 include switching control signals to the transistors T11to T16 of the inverter 34 and switching control signals to thetransistors T31 and T32 of the boost converter 40.

The electronic control unit 50 computes an electrical angle θe and arotation speed Nm of the motor 32 based on the rotational position θm ofthe rotor of the motor 32 from the rotational position sensor 32 a. Theelectronic control unit 50 computes a state of charge (SOC) of thebattery 36 based on an integrated value of the current IB of the battery36 from the current sensor 36 b. Here, the SOC is a ratio of powercapacity dischargeable from the battery 36 to the total capacity of thebattery 36.

In the electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment having theabove-mentioned configuration, the electronic control unit 50 performsthe following travel control. In the travel control, a required torqueTd* required for a drive shaft 26 is set based on the acceleratoropening Acc and the vehicle speed VS, the set required torque Td* is setas a torque command Tm* of the motor 32, and switching control of thetransistors T11 to T16 of the inverter 34 is performed to drive themotor 32 in accordance with the torque command Tm*. A target voltage VH*of the high-voltage power line 42 is set to drive the motor 32 inaccordance with the torque command Tm* and switching control of thetransistors T31 and T32 of the boost converter 40 is performed such thatthe voltage VH of the high-voltage power line 42 reaches the targetvoltage VH*.

Control of the inverter 34 will be described below. In the embodiment,as the control of the inverter 34, any one of sinusoidal pulse widthmodulation (PWM) control, overmodulation PWM control, and rectangularwave control is performed. The sinusoidal PWM control is control ofcontrolling the inverter 34 to apply (supply) a pseudo three-phase ACvoltage to the motor 32, the overmodulation PWM control is control ofcontrolling the inverter 34 to apply an overmodulation voltage to themotor 32, and the rectangular wave control is control of controlling theinverter 34 to apply a rectangular wave voltage to the motor 32. Whenthe sinusoidal PWM control is performed and a pulse width modulationvoltage based on a sinusoidal wave voltage is used as the pseudothree-phase AC voltage, a modulation factor Rm has a value ranging from0 to about 0.61. When a pulse width modulation voltage based on asuperimposed voltage acquired by superimposing 3n-th (for example,third) harmonic voltages on the sinusoidal wave voltage is used as thepseudo three-phase AC voltage, the modulation factor Rm has a valueranging from 0 to about 0.71. The modulation factor Rm is a ratio of aneffective value of an output voltage of the inverter 34 (a voltageapplied to the motor 32) to an input voltage (the voltage VH of thehigh-voltage power line 42). In the embodiment, in order to enlarge therange of the modulation factor Rm in which the sinusoidal PWM controlcan be performed, it is assumed that the pulse width modulation voltagebased on the superimposed voltage is used as the pseudo three-phase ACvoltages. When the rectangular wave control is performed, the modulationfactor Rm has a value of about 0.78. In the embodiment, in considerationthereof, it is assumed that any one of the sinusoidal PWM control, theovermodulation PWM control, and the rectangular wave control isperformed based on the modulation factor Rm. The sinusoidal PWM controlwill be described below. Neither overmodulation control nor rectangularwave control is essential to the disclosure and thus detaileddescription thereof will not be made.

In the embodiment, first PWM control or second PWM control is performedas the sinusoidal PWM control. The first PWM control is control ofgenerating a first PWM signal of the transistors T11 to T16 to switchthe transistors T11 to T16 by comparing voltage commands Vu*, Vv*, andVw* of the phases of the motor 32 with a carrier voltage (a triangularwave voltage). The second PWM control is control of generating a secondPWM signal of the transistors T11 to T16 based on the modulation factorRm of a voltage, a voltage phase θp, and the number of pulses Np in apredetermined period (for example, half a period or one period of anelectrical angle θe of the motor 32) to switch the transistors T11 toT16. It is assumed that the first PWM signal is generated at an intervalΔt1 corresponding to half a period or one period of the carrier voltage(a triangular wave voltage with a frequency of 3 kHz to 5 kHz) when thefirst PWM control is performed, and the second PWM signal is generatedat an interval Δt2 longer than the interval Δt1 when the second PWMcontrol is performed.

When the first PWM control is performed, the generation period of thePWM signal can be set to be shorter than when the second PWM control isperformed, and thus the responsiveness (adherence to an operating pointwhen a target operating point changes) of the motor 32 can be improved.When the second PWM control is performed, it is possible to reduce acore loss of the motor 32 or to reduce harmonic component by generatingthe second PWM signal to reduce (for example, to minimize) the core lossof the motor 32 or generating the second PWM signal to reduce (forexample, to minimize) harmonic component of a voltage or a current(particularly, low-order harmonic component such as rotational sixthharmonic component and rotational twelfth harmonic component of themotor 32), in comparison with the case in which the first PWM control isperformed.

In the embodiment, it is assumed that an area in which an effect ofexecution of second PWM control can be expected to a certain extent isdetermined as a second PWM control area and an area in which the effectcannot be expected to the certain extent is determined as a first PWMcontrol area to improve responsiveness of a motor 32, based on anexperiment result or an analysis result of performing the first PWMcontrol and the second PWM control on target operating points of themotor 32. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationshipbetween the target operating points of the motor 32 and the first PWMcontrol area and the second PWM control area. In the example illustratedin FIG. 2, an area (Area 1) in which a rotation speed Nm of the motor 32ranges from 1000 rpm to 3500 rpm, and either a torque command Tm*thereof is equal to or greater than 10 Nm or the torque command Tm*ranges from −100 Nm to −10 Nm, an area (Area 2) in which the rotationspeed Nm of the motor 32 ranges from 3500 rpm to 6000 rpm, and eitherthe torque command Tm* ranges from 10 Nm to 150 Nm or the torque commandTm* ranges from −100 Nm to −10 Nm, an area (Area 3) in which therotation speed Nm of the motor 32 ranges from 3500 rpm to 6000 rpm, andeither the torque command Tm* is equal to or greater than 150 Nm, anarea (Area 4) in which the rotation speed Nm of the motor 32 ranges from6000 rpm to 9000 rpm, and either the torque command Tm* ranges from 10Nm to 100 Nm or the torque command Tm* ranges from −50 Nm to −10 Nm, andan area (Area 5) in which the rotation speed Nm of the motor 32 rangesfrom 6000 rpm to 9000 rpm, and either the torque command Tm* ranges from100 Nm to 150 Nm or the torque command Tm* ranges from −100 Nm to −50 Nmare set as the second PWM control area. An area other than the secondPWM control area is set as the first PWM control area. Here, the areashave different numbers of pulses in the second PWM control area.

An operation of an electric vehicle 20 according to the embodimenthaving the above-mentioned configuration, particularly, an operationwhen the sinusoidal PWM control is performed in a case where anabnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor 32 a detecting arotational position of the rotor of the motor 32, will be describedbelow. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second PWMcontrol permission determining routine which is performed by anelectronic control unit 50 according to the embodiment. This routine isrepeatedly performed.

When the second PWM control permission determining routine is performed,the electronic control unit 50 first determines whether an abnormalityoccurs in the rotational position sensor 32 a detecting a rotationalposition of the rotor of the motor 32 (Step S100). This determinationcan be performed, for example, by storing a determination result ofwhether an abnormality (malfunction) occurs in a sensor through anabnormality determining routine which is not illustrated in apredetermined area of a RAM 56 and checking whether an abnormalityoccurs in the predetermined area of the RAM 56.

When no abnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor 32 a, thesecond PWM control is permitted (Step S110) and the routine ends. Inthis case, the first PWM control and the second PWM control are switchedand performed based on the areas illustrated in FIG. 2.

On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs in the rotational positionsensor 32 a, execution of the second PWM control is prohibited (StepS120) and the routine ends. In this case, when the second PWM control isexecuted, execution of the second PWM control can be switched toexecution of the first PWM control. As described above, in the secondPWM control, a period in which pulse signals are generated is longer andthe responsiveness of the motor 32 is lower. Accordingly, when anabnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor 32 a, anovercurrent or an overvoltage is likely to occur in the inverter 34.However, by prohibiting execution of the second PWM control andexecuting the first PWM control, it is possible to improve theresponsiveness of the motor 32 and to prevent an overcurrent or anovervoltage from occurring in the inverter 34.

In the above-mentioned electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment,when an abnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor 32 adetecting the rotational position of the rotor of the motor 32,execution of the second PWM control is prohibited. Accordingly, it ispossible to prevent an overcurrent or an overvoltage from occurring inthe inverter 34.

In the electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment, when anabnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor 32 a detecting therotational position of the rotor of the motor 32, execution of thesecond PWM control is prohibited, but execution of the second PWMcontrol may be limited. For example, execution of the second PWM controlin the area other than Area 1 in the second PWM control area illustratedin FIG. 2 may be prohibited or execution of the second PWM control in acase other than the case in which the electric vehicle cruises andtravels in the second PWM control area may be prohibited. In this case,when an abnormality occurs in the rotational position sensor 32 a andthe second PWM control is executed, the rotational position of the rotorof the motor 32 can be estimated from the vehicle speed VS.

In the electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment, the boostconverter 40 is provided between the battery 36 and the inverter 34, butthe boost converter 40 may not be provided.

The electric vehicle 20 according to the embodiment is configured toinclude the motor 32, the inverter 34, and the battery 36. However, asin a hybrid vehicle 120 according to a modified example illustrated inFIG. 4, a vehicle may be configured to include an engine 122, aplanetary gear 124, a motor 132, and an inverter 134 in addition to themotor 32 and the inverter 34. Here, the motor 132 is connected to a sungear of the planetary gear 124, the engine 122 is connected to a carrierthereof, and the drive shaft 26 and the motor 32 are connected to a ringgear thereof. The inverter 134 is connected to the motor 132 and is alsoconnected to a high-voltage power line 42.

In the embodiment, the motor 32 serves as the “motor,” the inverter 34serves as the “inverter,” the battery 36 serves as the “battery,” therotational position sensor 32 a serves as the “rotational positionsensor,” and the electronic control unit 50 serves as the “electroniccontrol unit.”

While aspects of the disclosure have been described with reference tothe embodiment, the embodiment is only a specific example of thedisclosure. The disclosure is not limited to the embodiment, and thedisclosure can be modified in various forms without departing from thescope of the disclosure.

The disclosure is applicable in the vehicle manufacturing industry.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: a motor configured to drivethe vehicle; an inverter configured to drive the motor by switching aplurality of switching elements; a battery configured to exchange powerwith the motor via the inverter; a rotational position sensor configuredto detect a rotational position of a rotor of the motor; and anelectronic control unit configured to perform control of the inverter byswitching a plurality of controls including i) a first PWM control ofgenerating a first PWM signal of the plurality of switching elements bycomparison of voltage commands of respective phases based on a torquecommand of the motor with a carrier voltage and switching the pluralityof switching elements, and ii) a second PWM control of generating asecond PWM signal of the plurality of switching elements based on amodulation factor of a voltage and a voltage phase based on the torquecommand and a number of pulses in a predetermined period of anelectrical angle of the motor and switching the plurality of switchingelements, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to limit anexecution of the second PWM control when an abnormality occurs in therotational position sensor.
 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, whereinthe electronic control unit is configured to prohibit the execution ofthe second PWM control as limiting of the execution of the second PWMcontrol.
 3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the electroniccontrol unit is configured to generate the first PWM signal at a firstinterval when performing the first PWM control and to generate thesecond PWM signal at a second interval longer than the first intervalwhen performing the second PWM control.
 4. The vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to reduce atorque command range or a rotation speed range of the second PWM controlas limiting of the execution of the second PWM control and execute thefirst PWM control.
 5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein theelectronic control unit is configured to generate the first PWM signalat a first interval when performing the first PWM control and togenerate the second PWM signal at a second interval longer than thefirst interval when performing the second PWM control.
 6. The vehicleaccording to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configuredto generate the first PWM signal at a first interval when performing thefirst PWM control and to generate the second PWM signal at a secondinterval longer than the first interval when performing the second PWMcontrol.